Teaching Magnus to Deal with It
Senegal Senegal is a moderately decentralized republic dominated by the Socialist Party, which has held power since independence. President Abdou Diouf, who had been in office since 1981, was succeeded in early 2000 by the newly elected president, Abdoulaye Wade. In 1996 the Socialist Party won control of all 10 regional governments and many local governments in the country's first subnational level elections, which were marked by credible allegations of widespread fraud and procedural irregularities, gerrymandering, illegal fundraising, and voter list manipulations. Due in part to the flaws in these elections, the Government's decentralization program has had limited success in defusing the secessionist rebellion in the Casamance region. The Casamance region is an important focus area for the economic development of Senegal due in part to its rich tropical environment. The region is centrally located to facilitate trade with neighboring countries and has some of the largest traditional markets in Senegal. At one time, Casamance was also well known as a major tourist destination in Senegal. Currently, a major constraint affecting development in the Casamance region is its armed separatist struggle that has lead to a sharp decline in the economic and social well being of the population. In 1982, supporters of the Mouvement des Forces Democratiques de la Casamance demanded that the Govern-ment of Senegal grant independence to the Casamance region, an isolated section of southwestern Senegal located between Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. This demand sparked a two-decade-long conflict, which had seemed to be resolving but has recently become much worse. MEANWHILE, in GUINEA-BISSAU: Boomslang has lead his 'pupil' Harrow to a camp in the hills. Previously a drug trafficking stop-off, Boomslang has shooed off the recent inhabitants and moved in cargo containers of supplies, fuel and munitions which he's hidden in pits dug amongst the trees. Their height and density is sufficient to hide the 25-foot tall Decepticons easily, particularly Boomslang, who seems comfortable in this environment. "When you're working on a field encampment, you need to always make sure you're not visible from the air," Boomslang explains, shovelling dirt back over a cargo container he had unearthed to show Harrow how to stow hidden stockpiles. "On most of this planet, the local humans won't report our presence to anyone who matters. But if your work can be seen from the sky for at least a week, satellites might pick it up, and the humans that run the satellites report their findings to the Autobots." He pauses a moment, tilting his head. "Hang on, I'm getting a call." Harrow still isn't rightly sure what Boomslang truly intended to do in such a location, aside from shovel dirt around. She nods like any good student, no questions coming to mind as Boomslang receives a comm. MEANWHILE, in SINDIAN ARRONDISEMENT, BIGNONA DEPARTMENT, ZIGUINCHOR REGION, SENEGAL: A lean young man in a red beret shouts into a black and yellow satellite phone over the noise of machineguns. Roughly two dozen MFDC separatists have pinned down a convoy of refugees who made the poor choice of siding with the State Army and telling the Senegalese government forces where to find an MFDC detachment. The refugees are trapped now in a shallow box canyon, their oxcarts circled vainly. Fortunately for the refugees and unfortunately for the vengeance of the MFDC, Ultra Magnus was close enough to intercept, and is holding off the rebels. Their pickup-truck-mounted machineguns don't seem to do more than scratch his immensely durable armor, and the MFDC captain is not hesitating to call the sinister international arms dealer "El Cajon" for air support, according to their standing deal. Ultra Magnus is indeed standing inbetween the refugees and the rough shod squd of separatists, incoming small arms fire bouncing off his backside. Grunting, the City Commander tries his best to communicate with the civilians. "No, you need to evacuate the premesis immediately. I'll give you cover as best I can until I can radio for backup!" Turning around, the Autobot charges at one pickup-truck ... plucking the gunner safely from his seat and depositing him on the ground. Magnus then tips the vehicle over with one charge of his shoulder, his other hand feeblely attempting to shield his optics from more weapons fire. ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AGO, in AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS: El Cajon, a short and sleek man of about forty years of age, dark-complected and fair-haired, receives the call, answering in the Serer-Sine language of the caller. He immediately opens a line on a radio, a complicated-looking desktop device of clearly Cybertronian manufacture, activates the encrypter, and begins to relay the mission parameters to his business partner, the Decepticon "Boomslang." RIGHT NOW, in GUINEA-BISSAU: "All right, transform and rise up. I have an... educational exercise for you. Stay in your alternate mode unless I say otherwise. Use machineguns instead of lasers if you've got any. Remember, you're a robot in disguise. Let's move out. Follow on my wing." Jogging swiftly through the woods, Boomslang reaches a nearby clearing and takes off, transforming and following a course that leads him north-west, in a line between one of Guinea-Bisseau's air force bases and the Senegalese border. With the usual ratcheting sound, Boomslang spins and flips and turns into a fighter jet. Machineguns? Hah. Harrow nods once more, nonetheless, and darts after Boomslang. She springs into the air after him, transforming, and remaining behind his left wing. Gazing down at the thick foliage below, she idly wingrocks, and finally pipes, "So what exactly are we doing here, sir? Will there be targets?" Harrow twists and folds into her F-16 Falcon mode. Crouching behind an abandoned mud-brick farmhouse, the MFDC captain consults his phone's GPS and yells the coordinates into the phone, peeking around the corner in a fright at the sound of a truck being flipped over like a tiddlywink and the men yelling at eachother to get back and keep shooting, even though their AK-47s are doing no good at all. "There'll be targets," the F/A-18 replies distractedly, holding his throttle back to just as fast as he knows Harrow can fly. The dark, rolling countryside slides by underneath the pair of jets as they cross the border from Guinea-Bissau into Senegal at 20,000 feet. "Normally," he adds, "I would fly a lot lower than this to avoid radar. But Senegal hasn't got an air force as of a few weeks ago, so it doesn't matter if they spot a couple aircraft intruding from their neighbor's airspace. That's where we come in. There are humans down there who want some particular other humans, and sometimes other things, gone. You can make a nice bit of pocket money for yourself taking these kind of side jobs if you're canny and you don't let Ratbat find out." Ultra Magnus rushes over to another pickup-truck, this time merely crushing the rear mounted machinegun with a simple grasp of his large mech-hand. The weapons system snaps off it's base, crumpling effortlessly in Magnus' clutches, the Autobot tosses it to the side before turning around to face the rest of the MFDC crew. All firing off AK-47s at him, Ultra Magnus simply smiles ... such a wasted effort, this lot. Just think all the good they could have done if given the tools to succeed. Instead, here they are picking on a lower caste of society for cheap thrills and illusionary power. "I'll only say this once, surrender at once and withdraw from the area. You will not be persued, just put the weapons down!" The City Commander widens his stance, ready for anything. Combat: Ultra Magnus sets his defense level to Protected. Decibel has encrypted this channel. Decibel says, "We are secure, least for the moment." F/A-18 Super Hornet continues as he banks gently to the west and begins his descent towards the target zone, "In this case it's an Autobot they want taken out. They don't know much about Autobots, so we'll see which one it is when we get there, but follow my lead. I'm told that it's blue, but that could be a lot of them." He transmits a message back to Amsterdam to tell El Cajon to let the MFDC know that he's coming. Nightbeat says, "...uh right. Got a situation in Africa, if you know what I mean, and Red Alert, if you'd maybe fill our man Decibel in on some of the details?" Grimlock says, "Is there Elephant? Me Grimlock never punched one of thems before!" The rebel captain, in response to something he just heard on the phone, unhooks a bullhorn from his belt and bellows a command to his men through it from behind the farmhouse. They eagerly start to fall back, retreating backwards hurriedly from Magnus in all directions while continuing to rattle away at him with assault rifles and the machineguns on the remaining pickup trucks. Decibel says, "Guessing based on the local that it's not about an elephant Grimlock. Maybe about some 'tears' though." Red Alert says, "I managed to pick up one of the signals we were watching for in Senegal, but from here it hits a satellite. I need you to trace what's on the other end, Decibel." F-16 Falcon seems rather bemused that Boomslang is partaking in something that might not be permitted. She's sure to log all of this precious info, mulling over the blue Autobots she's seen in the past. Not too many come to mind. When they do arrive, she's a fair bit daunted. "Big one." Grimlock says, "Hn. Somebody crying? THAT STUPIDS. Tell me Grimlock when me get punch somethings." Decibel says, "On it." Ultra Magnus straightens up a bit, relaxing when the MFDC all begins retreating ... just as he ordered. Well, almost. They forgot to leave the guns, but who's going to pay attention that much to detail? Certainly not this City Commander, walking forward acting as escort to reassure the refugees there is nothing more to worry about. Looking over his shoulder, Magnus regards one of them. "See, now make your way to the nearest safe zone and await my arrival. I will be along shortly, make sure they don't double back around!" "I need to get some kind of Autobot identification booklet printed up," Boomslang sends back with a weary tone. "All right, let's get it done." He powerdives suddenly towards the ground, arcing around to follow the lay of the land so that he approaches Magnus from behind the box canyon, his course unseen until the last moment, where he suddenly blasts overhead with a pair of general-purpose bombs dropping away towards the heroic Autobot! Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: F/A-18 Super Hornet strikes Ultra Magnus with his Mk.82 GP Bomb attack! F-16 Falcon scrambles to follow suit! Boomer's got bombs, this fight's in the bag, or so she thinks. She streaks after her mentor, firing a few laser shots into the plume of fire and smoke; alas no super cool machineguns or missiles. Combat: Harrow sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: F-16 Falcon misses Ultra Magnus with her Laser attack! Ultra Magnus relaxes after the caravan of refugees hightail it out of the area, scratching his head plate. Does he hear jets approaching? Swiveling around too late, the City Commander barely has enough time to put his arms in front of his face before the bombs detonate. A large cloud of dust is thrusted outwards, in the center a small plume of smoke trailing heavenward. Out of the right side of the smoke barrels Ultra Magnus, sent rolling end over end about fifty paces. Optics blink once, twice before full visual capabilities are restored. Both forearms are blasted to hell, spraying sparks all hap-hazardly. Great, no chance to call for that backup he thinks to himself, leaning forward on the busted limbs and getting to his feet. Magnus doesn't even notice the other jet firing out, she misses on her own accord. Turning around quickly, the Autobot is barely able to get a shot off before the F-16 Falcon swoops past. "Cowards!" Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes F-16 Falcon with his Return fire (Laser) attack! Everyone in the refugee convoy runs in a panic as fountains of dirt and smoke spout upwards from the bomb blast almost directly on their savior, oxen lowing and babies screaming at the deafening sound. The MFDC, having taken cover, start reappearing with raucous cheers and shoot ineffectually at Magnus and the rapidly departing refugees. "Do you think he's spotted us?" quips Boomslang, climbing away from the target. "We have to lead him away from the humans, they don't know what we are. They think we're just a mercenary air force from Guinea-Bissau." He snap-rolls back and strafes Magnus' position with a short buzz of his autocannon, already peeling away and heading for a dark river valley. Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: F/A-18 Super Hornet misses Ultra Magnus with his Autocannon (Pistol) attack! Decibel says, "Bingo! Trance complete. Final destination is a condo in Amsterdam. Happy place there, just stay away from the space cakes. Especially you Red your paranoid enough as is." Red Alert says, "I am not paranoid! They really are after me!" F-16 Falcon stifles a yelp as the underside of her nose cone is seared by laser fire, and twists to bank sharply skyward. "Frag," she curses, falling into a loop. Was Boomer being sarcastic? Of /course/ the big lug had spotted them! She fires another barrage of lasers at the Autobot commander before hightailing it after Boomslang, struggling a bit to keep up. Combat: F-16 Falcon misses Ultra Magnus with her Laser attack! Nightbeat says, "That's a big city. Got anything narrower than that?" Decibel says, "Of course! I have the street address of the condo. Uploading coordinates to you now." Nightbeat says, "...and, according to googlemaps, it'll... slaggit, we'd have to take a shuttle if we wanted to get there in anything like decent time." Ultra Magnus easily sidesteps both shots ... you know now that he actually has a visual as opposed to being backstabbed! Tromping off after them and towards a dark river valley, the reluctant City Commander hefts his Laser Blaster Rifle in his hands and fires a shot at the nearest jet, which sadly happens to be the slower of the two ... the F-16 Falcon. "Your disguises don't fool me Decepticons, show yourselves instead of playing pewpew in the clouds!" Combat: Ultra Magnus sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes F-16 Falcon with his Laser Blaster Rifle attack! -2 Red Alert says, "I say we stop talking about this. NOW. If the Decepticons don't know we know, this guy has no reason to move on." Nightbeat says, "Unless he just moves on as a matter of course. It's good procedure. But yeah. Commencing Operation: Shut Up." F/A-18 Super Hornet dives into the valley and transforms as soon as he's dipped under the ridge and out of sight of the bemused rebels and escaping refugees. "Was that a direct order?" he sneers, ejecting his anti-tank pistol from his thigh into his hand and giving the cylinder a spin. "Harrow, chill him down!" The F-18 produces that distinctive transformation sound as it flips around and pops out limbs to assume a humanoid shape. Combat: Boomslang misses Ultra Magnus with his 75mm HVAP Revolver attack! Boomslang fires from the hip as he touches down, perhaps too hastily. F-16 Falcon isn't terribly happy about being the one targeted rather than Boomslang. She can't hold back a scowl this time, frame getting battered as she continues after the F-18. Finally catching up, she transforms as whips out her pistol, firing an icy beam upon the decently sized target. The dark blue F-16 Falcon Harrow transforms into her robot mode with a swift shift of components. Combat: Harrow strikes Ultra Magnus with her Ice Pistol attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Ultra Magnus's Agility. (Crippled) Ultra Magnus stops short, eyeing both jets as they transform and take more familiar shapes. Well, at least one ... the other looks like nothing more than a generic dark blue Seeker. Magnus' shoulder juts forward, his body following suit and turning to stand sideways as the revolver shot flies past. He's about to follow up when he's struck by the femme Seeker, some sort of freeze blast. The City Commander's systems grind to a halt, and he finds it increasingly difficult to move. Pressing on, Magnus stays the course and shakes off most of the effects of the Ice pistol. Shoulders square up on the leader and more experienced of the two, Boomslang. Pointing a finger out at him, "This is the end of the road Boomslang. We've been trying to ascertain what the Decepticons had in mind here, your presence only validates our suspicions." If Mr. Serious can manage to take out him first, the other Seeker will be slim pickins ... and more apt to spill the beans on the situation in Senegal. Jerking forward, both rockets attached to his shoulders fire out ... spiraling around each other like a double kamehameha attack towards Boomer. "I /will/ get answers!" Combat: Ultra Magnus sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes Boomslang with his Twin Shoulder Missiles attack! Slots on Boomslang's chest snap open and a spray of flares shoot out, but Magnus' missile guidance is not so easily spoofed- the explosion is very close to the target and sends Boomslang reeling. He has an icy expression when he climbs to his feet and levels a finger at Magnus. "Now cut him," orders Boomslang, fading from view as he runs towards Harrow across the soft scrubby grass. "Clean and deep. Handsomely now- that skin is triple thick, put your back in." Combat: Boomslang activates his cloaking field and vanishes from sight! Harrow touches ground and abruptly feels very alone now that Boomslang was gone from sight. Trading out her pistol for her blade, she slowly starts towards Ultra Magnus, then breaks into a run, until she's at his feet, where she leaps up to aim a slash across the bigger mech's neck components. Combat: Harrow strikes Ultra Magnus with her Vibro-Scalpel attack! Combat: Harrow's attack has corrupted Ultra Magnus' Accuracy systems! Ultra Magnus laughs at Boomslang's temporarily retreat ... fading back into intangability and obscurity if the Autobot is lucky. Perhaps he should have been paying attention to the student however, because a racking pain from the side his neck is felt as she twists the Vibro-Scalpel. Without hesitation, the City Commander sends a fist out where he thinks her face might be. "Hrmph!" Combat: Ultra Magnus misses Harrow with his Cut that out! no pun intended (Kick) attack! "You want answers?" hisses the disembodied voice, circling. "You wouldn't know what to do with them if you had them. This isn't the kind of place where you can deal so plainly with your enemy. You think this is a Decepticon scheme, and on some level it is, but more than that it's a HUMAN scheme. This is about what the humans do to eachother on the ninety-nine percent of this planet you insipid saps don't park your bases on." Boomslang's voice is coming from somewhere just behind Magnus' back, staying with him as he moves. "You think I'm the instigator here? I belong here. I'm an invited guest. I'm a valued member of the community. We're all bad guys together here. You're the invader." Combat: Suddenly, Boomslang appears out of fat air! Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: Boomslang strikes Ultra Magnus with his Knife in the Back (Kick) attack! Eject says, "Calling in the play from the sidelines! What's going on out in that Africa stadium? Need me to come in off the bench?!?" Harrow smirks, finally gaining some confidence as she hovers just out of the fist's reach. "Hah!" She's not too sure what Boomslang is going on about, but pays it no mind while she darts in for another slice, this time across Ultra Magnus' middle. Combat: Harrow strikes Ultra Magnus with her Slice attack! -1 Eject says, "Do you read Coach Magnus?" Nightbeat says, "Weeellll, I promised Red Alert I wasn't gonna talk about... Ultra Magnus?" Grimlock says, "Oooh! Me can talk 'bout him Magnus!" Eject says, "Ah Nightbeat, I'm readin' some play action passes going on over there in Africa. You guys need the kicker to come in and win the game?" Grimlock says, "Him Magnus am BIG STUPID HEAD. And him BAD FIGHTER. And him, uh...smell bad." Fanfare says, "Ah'm available tae take ye there if ye want, Eject." Ultra Magnus is knocked around twice, twirling in a semi circle between the two Decepticon ruffians. "Hrgh, it appears so. Well, if I won't have answers ..." he states coldly, charging forward for the once stealthed Boomslang with both fists hefted in front of him. The City Commander sends out a right jab, followed closely by a left hook intended to knock his opponent's block right off his shoulders. "I'll have to settle for sending you back in pieces!" Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes Boomslang with his 1-2 Autobot combo for Justice!! attack! -2 Ultra Magnus's commlink is nothing but static. Spectrum says, "Is anyone need of medical support?" Eject says, "Yea Fanfare, I could use a trip to the African stadium. Sounds like Coach Magnus' headset is broken or something." Fanfare says, "Aye aye! Meet me on tha launch pad!" Nightbeat says, "...huh. That would explain... I mean, nevermind." Harrow is relentless in her attacks, now that the Autobot is distracted. She continues dig blade into metal, but it's far from easy, the commander's armor is thick beyond reason. She /does/ put her back into it, driving the scalpel into a knee joint now. Combat: Harrow strikes Ultra Magnus with her Slash attack! -3 Boomslang hits the ground hard, leaving his knife stuck in Ultra Magnus in the process. He rubs his jaw in a daze as he reaches for his revolver, rolling towards the cover of some rocks and firing defensively as he gets to his feet. "That's it, Magnus. Think with your fists. That seems to be what you're good at." Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Boomslang strikes Ultra Magnus with his 75mm HVAP snap shot attack! "Ahhh!" The revolver shot impacts on his chest, which turns him around to be knee-scalpeled by Harrow. Falling to the ground, Magnus attempts to jump in the air and bring a kneecap smash down on the mentor, preferring to leave the student alone ... for now. "Howabout I think on my feet instead?" Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes Boomslang with his Kneecapper! (Kick) attack! Fanfare is somewhere over Egypt at this time, engines rumbling loudly as he makes as fast tracks as his fat aft could southwards, booming some nice metal music in his interior, suspecting his passenger may actually be one to enjoy it for once. Boomslang grunts, clutching his crippled arm, and backs away from Ultra Magnus as swiftly as he is able. "The other thing," Boomslang says to Harrow, "is to not get too invested in the outcome of any one battle. The important thing is the campaign. To wit: know when to retreat." He crouches and springs into the air, igniting his engines as he transforms and blasts out of the valley with a roar of afterburners. With the usual ratcheting sound, Boomslang spins and flips and turns into a fighter jet. Combat: F/A-18 Super Hornet begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from F-16 Falcon Harrow pulls back a bit, now drawing her pistol, quite ready to continue the fight seeing as she wasn't the one being wailed upon. But Boomslang calls it off. "Noted, sir!" She mimics Boomslang exactly, transforming to tear off into the valley behind him. Harrow twists and folds into her F-16 Falcon mode. Combat: F-16 Falcon begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Ultra Magnus stands, slightly leaning to one side and clutching his neck. Straining up, he looks at the retreating Decepticons and can't help but smile a bit. Then the knee gives out and he's brought right back to the ground with a *thud*. Stirring slightly, the City Commander finally relents on getting back up and tries his luck at jury-rigging his communicator. It starts randomly broadcasting the terran QVC show. Fanfare is continuing along to the last known locatino of Ultra Magnus, keeping his sensors peeled for any sign of the commander. F/A-18 Super Hornet leads Harrow southwards, back towards Guinea-Bissau. "Well, we didn't kill him. But we did carry out the airstrike and we drove him off at least, that's as much as they can expect. You did all right. Magnus is too much Autobot for any two Seekers to handle unless they're having a VERY good day, and this day is not that good." Fanfare says, "Any werd from 'im?" Red Alert says, "Hmmm. Not so far, but I seem to be picking up gratuitous amounts of QVC." Fanfare says, "Wots that?" F-16 Falcon would've beamed if she currently had the features. Instead, she barrel rolls. "Thank you, sir! You still gave him something to cry about, I'm sure. Where to now?" Ultra Magnus is still laying on the ground, fiddling with his communication systems. "Ah, no. I don't care about the limited addition porcelin Hannah Montana collection ... Ugh, I can't deal with this now!" the City Commander sighs, turning the frequency off and rolling over to stretch out on his back, arms and legs splayed out as if making a snow angel ... only there is only dirt here and without actually moving his appendages. Red Alert says, "Garbage, largely." Fanfare says, "Ah." "Normally we'd meet back to the rendezvous point and then back to base," Boomslang replies, starting a long shallow curve to the west-southwest, "but we're all together already, so let's go back and get fixed up for next time. That Autobot hits like a truck." Fanfare continues over africa, the forests thinning out into savanna when glimpses of blu and white were visible below. He banks sharply, the music fading as he swoops overhead, blotting out the sun "Ach!" he utters, slowing down now until nearly standing still in midair. Fanfare says, "Ah think ah found 'im." Autobot Message: 3/194 Posted Author Senegal Situation Sun Nov 29 Ultra Magnus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Autobot Spinny, then the beaten form of Ultra Magnus. The background is his office, as the City Commander is relaxed back in his chair looking over a Senegal file from the Intel division. "As everyone should be aware, we've got a situation in Senegal that must be handled with the upmost discretion. Not only do we have a couple of Decepticons mobilizing and stocking up the country, but the MFDC has also started to take a strong stance against civilians in the area ... especially ones allied with or giving up information to the government forces. Magnus shifts uncomfortably in his seat, the extent of his injuries causing him physical discomfort. "I was in the area protecting a group of refugees who just so happened to be on the wrong side of the engagement, MFDC personnel had arrived and pelted them with smallarms fire. Halfway through the incident, they pulled out ... only because two jets had arrived to bombard the area. Following them I found out, as per my intuiton ... it was Boomslang and..." he trails off, looking down at a report on his desk. "Harrow, a new field medic in their ranks. After the initial attack, my communication systems were knocked offline ... so I had to take them on solo. "I proved to be enough to repel their might though, not without my own damages to show for it. Prime, you know my take on this situation ... it's time to start taking a hard stance against this militant activity. Perhaps the EDC should consider occupying the area until the MFDC can be expelled permanately. And, this marks the third time in the last few cycles that a high ranking Autobot has been attacked or tricked into combat out on their own by a grouping of two Decepticons. Red Alert, I want you to look into this at your earliest convienence aside from dealing with your other tasks. "That sums it up for now. Rodimus, I'd like to speak to you privately about this and other matters when you have the time." he chuckles, setting down the report and leaning back in his chair. "Keep up the good work Bots. Ultra Magnus, out." Autobot Spinny!